I’m OK with labels, but not with reading them

I didn’t want to be stuck in a category, compared to anyone or anything else or “labeled.” I naively thought I was unique, with original thoughts and innovative passions.

I’m wiser now and very comfortable with labels.

Lump me in with whichever stereotype you’d like. Size me up in the first 20 seconds of meeting me and assume what you wish. I’ve no interest in proving myself to you, changing for you or pretending to be something I’m not. I’m good with labels.

Reading them on food, however, not so much.

That was the focus in Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less — being mindful of what you’re eating by becoming a label reader.

Most packaged foods are required to have a nutrition facts label that gives information about the nutrients.

The label shows the servings per container. This is especially important to note on single serving containers. Sometimes items sold as single servings actually include more than one serving (check those 16-ounce beverage labels; they often contain two servings).

Labels also give the calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium and other facts that are in each serving. And eating too much of these can be unhealthy to the point of increasing the risk of heart disease, some cancers or high blood pressure.

Nutrients and carbohydrates are also noted on labels. The goal should be to find food with higher amounts of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron, which can improve health and help reduce the risk of diseases.

The labels also include an ingredient list, which lists items with the largest amount by weight. So if you’re getting a beef soup, but beef is the last ingredient listed, be aware of that.

And be aware of any item where sugar is listed first — or not listed first.

I love sugar — I love sweets and sugary sweets and I even like calling people “sugar” — but you should also check labels and try and pick foods where sugar is listed last. I was surprised to learn that there is some creative editing on food labels when it comes to sugar. Manufacturers might decide to break apart different kinds of sugar so that it does not appear as the first ingredient. For example, the ingredients might say “molasses” then “sugar” and then “corn syrup,” but it’s all really sugar.

Packaging labels can be tricky as well. There are guidelines in place now for terms that can sound identical but are not the same. For example fat-free means that a product contains no amount of, or only trivial amounts of fat (less than 0.5 grams per serving). Synonyms include without, no, zero and skim.

Low-fat, however, is for products containing 3 grams of fat or less per serving. And light (or lite) means the nutritionally-altered product contains one-third fewer calories or half the fat of the regular product. Reduced-fat refers to a nutritionally-altered product contains at least 25 percent less fat than the regular product.

Lean and extra lean refer to fat content of meat, poultry, seafood and game meats. Lean means less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g or less saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving, where extra lean identifies less than 5 grams fat, less than 2 grams saturated fat and less than 95 milligrams cholesterol per serving.

The label lesson was a good one. I’m going to work on spending more time reading them and getting familiar with what food manufactures are trying to tell me (or not tell me) so it becomes a habit.

Hopefully it’ll become easier to find foods that are better for me when I’m in the grocery store, where I often call people “sugar.”

Timmi Toler is city editor of The Daily News who will be attending the Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less 15-week weight management program sponsored by Onslow County Parks and Recreation, North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Onslow County Health Department and sharing her thoughts each Friday. This is the information from week 6. Contact her at timmi.toler@jdnews.com.